Skype, Woot, Ding!

The internet has opened up all sorts of ways to save, and there's three I want to point out to you.

The first is Skype. It's a software package that allows you to make video-phone-calls to other people over your computer. You and the receiver both need to have webcams to be able to see each other (you can make audio calls with just microphones if you don't have a webcam, but what makes Skype so much fun is the video capability). The software is available for free when you click on 'download' at this link. The set-up of your account is fairly straightforward and then you can easily search for friends/relatives who may already have Skype addresses.

My experience with the software is that it's just a bit finicky. Sometimes when you open Skype, it may have lost some settings for your webcam or mike (I've made calls where the other party couldn't hear me, for example, because the microphone setting changed to other than the mike in my webcam). But as long as you check the Skype settings before you place a call and make sure they're set properly, it works fine.

The ability to video-call people around the world is awesome! Whether it were free or not, isn't it an amazing time to be able to see a relative from half a world away while you talk? And the fact that the call is free if you both have Skype makes it doubly awesome!!!!

I've been able to talk with and see my wife while on a business trip to Japan -- in a situation like that, Skype is also advantageous because you can see whether the person you want to call is on-line at the moment. On prior business trips I would waste time and money calling the hotel only to find out she wasn't available. This way, I could be sure and it made the calling process much less frustrating.

I've been able to video-chat with relatives in Europe for long periods without having to worry about the bill piling up too, which is awfully nice!

Skype also allows you to place inexpensive calls to non-Skype numbers (about a penny and a half per minute), so you can also use it as an inexpensive long-distance service too. You pre-pay some money into an account for credits if you want to use this type of calling -- but there's no obligation to use it for that -- if you just want the free computer-to-computer phone calling, you don't need to pay anything.

For me the ability to have accessible video-calling and have it for free makes this an unbelievable deal. So if you want to add this great technological advance into your life, Skype makes it easy.

Next is woot. What? No, woot! OK, I had never even heard of the word before a young friend of mine told me it was a new way of saying "hooray" or "wow!" And there's a site called woot.com which has a unique way of offering great deals. While most on-line stores offer lots of items in various categories, woot sells only one item each day. It goes on sale at midnight, and they sell it until they sell out. Sometimes the bargains are such that the items sell out before the sun rises. It's a unique approach but they have a fun way of displaying the item, often writing a poem or other creative way to talk about it. If the idea appeals to you, check them out.

Finally, ding! That bell that went off is a small download you can put on your computer from Southwest Airlines. Every so often, they will send out limited-time special offers for airfare -- when you register, you can choose up to ten airports for them to send you specials. If you have this downloaded to your system, it makes a ding sound that sounds like the bell on a plane when a stewardess is called or the seat-belt light goes off. You click on the ding icon and the offer pops up. The software doesn't cost anything, and it's a way to be informed of some travel deals as they happen. Here's the link.

Southwest doesn't get covered by companies like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, so these are deals you might not otherwise find. Southwest is a discount airline with low-frills service to maximize the low fares (such as no pre-assigned seating), so you might not get all the bells and whistles -- but even the major airlines have cut back many of the bells and whistles anyway.

So these may be three new words in your vocabulary -- but they can be new ways of finding great deals too.